American Education Vs. The World

United States public schools were regarded as some of the best public schools in the world up to the 1970's. Compared to the educational development of Asian and European students, American students and the education system are ranked embarrassingly low. "In a 2003 study conducted by UNICEF that took the averages from five different international education studies, the researchers ranked the United States number 18 out of 24 nations in terms of the relative effectiveness of its educational system" (Wu 2). Some students are graduating from high school with little or no knowledge about the core classes, while other students are dropping out and not graduating at all due to lack of discipline. Recently, colleges and universities have stopped using diplomas and grade point averages as a basis of admission because American high school curriculums have consistently simplified over the years and do not come close to compare to other schools around the world. The structure of American public schools compared to European and Asian schools are greatly disorganized, and many American teachers hold no credential and are extremely unqualified. Another major issue facing students today is the number of students per classroom, which differs greatly between competing countries. The American students are floundering in comparison with their counterparts around the world educationally due to lack of educational preparation, simpler curriculums, and unqualified teachers.

When it comes to international education rankings, recent studies show that other nations in the developed world have a higher caliber of student success than that of the United States. In 2003, the United Nations Children's Fund conducted an educational study that took the averages of five different tests and ranked the 24 participating nations; the United States was ranked 18. In that same year a similar study, the Tends in International Mathematics and Science Study, showed that the United States students tended